Delta Air Lines is adding daily nonstop service between Northwest Arkansas National Airport and Austin.
The Delta, once-a-day flight, which was loaded into Delta’s schedule this morning, will provide a direct connection between Northwest Arkansas and the Texas capital. It comes as Delta continues to expand its presence at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, adding destinations, increasing flight frequencies and investing in airport facilities and employees.
When the nonstop flight takes off from XNA on March 8, Austin will become XNA’s 29th nonstop destination. With passenger traffic beefed up by the presence of business giants Walmart, Tyson Foods and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, XNA has more nonstop service than airports in bigger metros such as Buffalo (27 destinations); Oklahoma City (26); Tulsa (26); and Tucson (19).
Austin is a gateway to elsewhere
Delta expects to serve approximately 30 destinations from Austin by December and operate more than 70 departures on peak days by summer 2027.
Among the destinations Delta has added in the past year from Austin are Denver, Miami, Kansas City, Palm Springs, Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio. Still to come in 2027 are Delta service expansion from Austin to Cancun, San Diego and San Jose and Paris, France.
Delta is also expanding its international offerings from Austin. The airline launched service to Cancun and Los Cabos, Mexico, in 2025, and plans to make its Cancun service year-round. In March next year, Delta is scheduled to begin daily seasonal nonstop service between Austin and Paris, marking the first nonstop connection between the two cities. The airline plans to add daily service between Austin and San Diego in April next year.
Allegiant tried Austin
The new service between XNA and Austin will not be the first attempt to establish a nonstop connection between the two cities.
Allegiant Air announced in February 2021 that it would begin flying between Northwest Arkansas and Austin, with service starting July 2 of that year. The airline initially offered flights twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, with introductory one-way fares as low as $49.
Allegiant’s service was eventually discontinued. Flight schedule records show the service ended in January 2023.
Here’s what’s different with Delta: Allegiant and its twice-a-week flights relied entirely on leisure travelers going from XNA to a final destination in Austin, largely for weekend trips. By using Delta, Northwest Arkansas travelers can use Austin as a final destination or a gateway to connect with other Delta flights, including those going to Paris, Cancun and Los Cabos.
XNA’s traffic to Austin is growing, and the Texas city ranks at XNA’s 25th most popular destination. About 33 people a day travel to Austin from XNA, federal data shows, and most of those people (27) are flying on American Airlines to DFW before catching a connecting flight to Austin.
In 2019, travel to Austin from XNA was near 25 passengers per day.
